Tuesday, 2 December 2014

It's been a while since I've posted anything on this blog but a few questions have come up lately, most notably on the amount our banks have paid out in senior unsecured bonds since this government came to power.

The numbers on this blog are based on a bond list for all Irish banks but originates only in early May 2011, two months after Kenny & Co took over the reins of government.

These are the numbers for the various banks from that date to the end of 2014 - of course Anglo and Irish Nationwide have since been wound up but had this happened when it SHOULD have happened, back in 2010, then we'd have saved ourselves at least the amount shown here. The real savings of course would have been a hell of a lot more, the €31.9bn for which our children will be paying for decades, thanks to Michael Noonan's Promissory Note sellout - more on that here.

Monday, 13 January 2014

First post of the new year on this blog so here's wishing all a happy and healthy year ahead.

No such wishes needed for the bondholders in Irish banks, they've already had their bounty and are still in receipt of same. You remember of course the pride and satisfaction with which it was announced in the last week or so that Bank of Ireland had issued senior unsecured bonds that were oversubscribed? Yet no-one paused to point out the obvious - in Irish banks, there is no such thing as a senior unsecured bond. All are paid, period.

And so it continues. Since this government came to office Irish banks have paid out over €40bn in bonds, nearly €14bn of that senior unsecured. Have a look at the next 12 and weep.

Tuesday, 19 November 2013

This is the complete list of those TDs who haven't yet committed to voting (one way or the other) on the Technical Group Motion to the Dáil seeking the full and final destruction of the Promissory Note sovereign bonds and all costs associated with them. That Motion will be put to the chamber and debated on the evenings of Nov 26th & 27th, the vote taking place at 9pm on the 27th.

The list will be updated promptly as we get notice of any change.

We are asking that you:

Contact your local TD on this list (e-mail: firstname.lastname@oireachtas.ie) and ask them to vote in favour

Join us at the Dáil from 6pm to 10pm on the evening of the 27th (Wed) to add your voice from outside to those in the chanber who will be arguing our cause.

About Me

TWITTER: @ballyhea14
Full-time sports journalist with the Irish Examiner since 1998, several years part-time experience prior to that; qualified Land Surveyor/Civil Engineering Technician, worked in those fields from 1971 to 1998, with a few breaks for education thrown into the mix.